Processing apparatus, control method, and program
The processing apparatus addresses curling issues by automatically adjusting the cutting blade's orientation, ensuring high-quality cuts and preventing product deterioration during corner transitions.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- JP · JP
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- CASIO COMPUTER CO LTD
- Filing Date
- 2024-12-20
- Publication Date
- 2026-07-02
Smart Images
Figure 2026109670000001_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The present invention relates to a processing apparatus, a control method, and a program.
Background Art
[0002] There is a processing apparatus for processing a sheet-like workpiece (object to be processed) that cuts the workpiece by changing the relative position of a cutting blade with respect to the workpiece while pressing the cutting blade against the workpiece. In this type of processing apparatus, there is a device that automatically changes the direction of the cutting blade according to the direction of the relative movement of the cutting blade with respect to the workpiece by offsetting (offsetting) the cutting edge of the cutting blade from the rotation center of the cutting blade (for example, Patent Document 1).
Prior Art Documents
Patent Documents
[0003]
Patent Document 1
Summary of the Invention
Problems to be Solved by the Invention
[0004] In the above-described processing apparatus, when the direction of the cutting blade is changed while pressing the cutting blade against the workpiece at the corner of the cutting path set on the workpiece based on the processing data, curling or the like may occur, and the appearance of the product obtained after processing may deteriorate.
[0005] The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and one of its objects is to prevent deterioration of the appearance of the product obtained by cutting the workpiece.
Means for Solving the Problems
[0006] A processing apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention is a processing apparatus comprising: a processing means having a cutting blade for processing a sheet-like workpiece by pressing it against the workpiece; a relative position changing means for changing the relative position of the processing means with respect to the workpiece; a cutting blade rotating means for rotating the cutting blade of the processing means; and a control means for determining whether or not to perform a process of rotating the cutting blade by the cutting blade rotating means while the workpiece is being processed by the cutting blade, based on predetermined conditions. [Effects of the Invention]
[0007] According to the above embodiment, it is possible to prevent deterioration of the appearance of the finished product obtained by cutting the workpiece. [Brief explanation of the drawing]
[0008] [Figure 1] This figure illustrates an example of the configuration of a processing apparatus according to one embodiment. [Figure 2] This is a block diagram illustrating an example of the functional configuration of a processing device. [Figure 3] Figure 3A is a perspective view illustrating an example of the external configuration of the cutter holder, and Figure 3B is a diagram illustrating the contact position and separation position. [Figure 4] Figure 4A is a cross-sectional view illustrating an example of the cutter holder configuration, and Figure 4B is a diagram illustrating an example of the cutter blade configuration. [Figure 5] This is an exploded cross-sectional view illustrating an example of the cutter holder configuration. [Figure 6] This is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process performed by a processing apparatus according to one embodiment. [Figure 7] This diagram illustrates an example of a processing method for a workpiece. [Figure 8] Figures 8A to 8C illustrate specific examples of the process of changing the direction of the cutting blade. [Figure 9] This is a flowchart illustrating another example of the processing performed by the processing apparatus according to one embodiment. [Figure 10] This diagram illustrates an example of rotating a cutting blade using an external device. [Figure 11] Figures 11A to 11C illustrate an example of observing the processing status of a workpiece using an external device. [Figure 12] This figure illustrates an example of the configuration of a presentation unit that can be applied to a processing apparatus according to one embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]
[0009] Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The X, Y, and Z axes in the referenced drawings are shown for the purpose of identifying the relationships between identical components shown in different drawings, such as their planes and directions. The X, Y, and Z axes are orthogonal to each other and form a right-handed system. In the following description, the direction parallel to the X axis will be referred to as the X direction, the direction parallel to the Y axis will be referred to as the Y direction, and the direction parallel to the Z axis will be referred to as the Z direction. Furthermore, when relating the X, Y, and Z directions to the directions of the arrows (positive and negative) of the X, Y, and Z axes shown in the drawings, they will be prefixed with "+" or "-", or "positive side" or "negative side". For example, "+X direction" and "-X direction" refer to the direction of travel and the opposite direction of travel of the arrow indicating the X axis, respectively. Furthermore, "positive X-direction" refers to the side that is in the +X direction when viewed from a reference surface, member, position, etc., and "negative X-direction" refers to the side that is in the -X direction when viewed from a reference surface, member, position, etc.
[0010] In this specification, the Z direction may be referred to as the up and down direction. In this specification, "up" or "above" means the positive Z direction relative to a reference surface, member, position, etc., and "down" or "below" means the negative Z direction relative to a reference surface, member, position, etc. For example, when it is stated that "member B is placed on member A," member B is placed on the positive Z direction relative to member A. Also, when it is stated that "the top surface of member A," that surface includes the surface located at the positive Z end of member A and facing the positive Z direction. These directions and the names of the surfaces associated with them are used for the sake of explanation only, and the correspondence with the X, Y, and Z axes may change depending on the mounting position of the processing equipment exemplified. For example, the surface referred to as the "top surface" in this specification may be referred to as the "bottom surface" or "side surface," and the names of other surfaces may change accordingly. In the diagram, underlined symbols indicate that a symbol refers to the entire component when a part of that component is referred to by another symbol.
[0011] In this specification, multiple identical components distinguished by letters in their symbols may be distinguished by descriptions such as "first," "second," etc. These descriptions are solely for the purpose of distinguishing multiple identical components, and a component preceded by "first" in this specification may also be referred to as the "second" component. Furthermore, in this specification, when referring to matters common to multiple identical components, the letters in their symbols and descriptions such as "first," "second," etc. may be omitted. For example, when referring to the first drive unit 7A, the second drive unit 7B, and the third drive unit 7C, they may be described as "drive unit 7," "drive units 7A, 7B, and 7C," etc. Also, the word "part" at the end of a component's name in this specification may be replaced with "means." For example, "drive unit" may be referred to as "drive means."
[0012] Figure 1 illustrates the main components of a processing apparatus 1 for cutting a sheet-like workpiece based on processing data. The processing apparatus 1 may also be called a cutting device, sheet cutting device, sheet cutter, etc. The processing apparatus 1 includes a media holding member 2, a cutter holder 3, a carriage 4, a carriage support member 5, transport rollers 6A and 6B, drive units 7A, 7B and 7C, and a control unit 8. In another view, the processing apparatus 1 may include a processing unit 100 (relative position changing means) and a control unit 8 that controls the operation of the processing unit 100, as illustrated in Figure 2. The processing unit 100 includes drive units 7A, 7B and 7C, a media holding member moving mechanism 110, and a carriage moving mechanism 120, the carriage moving mechanism 120 including an X-direction moving mechanism 121 and a rotational moving mechanism 122. The control unit 8 includes a control unit 801, a storage unit 802, an input unit 803, a display unit 804, and a communication unit 805, and these components are interconnected by a bus 806. The processing apparatus 1 illustrated herein is configured to cut the workpiece 11 by changing the relative position of the cutter 9 (see Figures 3A, 4A, etc.) held by the cutter holder 3 with respect to the workpiece 11 held by the medium holding member 2. Detailed descriptions of the well-known configuration and operation of the processing apparatus 1 are omitted in the following description.
[0013] The media holding member 2 is a member that holds the sheet-like workpiece 11, and includes a plate-shaped member 200 and an adhesive layer 210 (see Figure 3B) disposed on the upper surface 201 of the plate-shaped member 200. The media holding member 2 may also be called a backing board or the like. The plate-shaped member 200 has a clamped portion on the outside of the area where the workpiece 11 is placed, which is clamped by the transport rollers 6A and 6B. The plate-shaped member 200 illustrated in Figure 1 has a clamped portion extending along the Y direction at both the positive end in the X direction and the negative end in the X direction. The first transport roller 6A is positioned above the plate-shaped member 200, not in contact with the workpiece 11, so as to rotate around a rotation axis parallel to the X direction, and has a large-diameter clamping portion that contacts the surface within the clamped portion on the upper surface 201 of the plate-shaped member 200. The second conveyor roller 6B is positioned below the plate-shaped member 200 so as to rotate around a rotation axis parallel to the X direction, and has a large-diameter gripping portion that contacts the surface within the gripped portion on the lower surface of the plate-shaped member 200. The first conveyor roller 6A and the second conveyor roller 6B are included in the media holding member moving mechanism 110 in the processing unit 100 illustrated in Figure 2, and rotate in opposite directions by the power of the first drive unit 7A (for example, a stepping motor). Either the first conveyor roller 6A or the second conveyor roller 6B may be a driving roller connected to the first drive unit 7A, and the other roller may be a driven roller. When the first drive unit 7A is driven while the plate-shaped member 200 is sandwiched between the first conveyor roller 6A and the second conveyor roller 6B, the media holding member 2 moves in the Y direction.
[0014] The cutter holder 3 is a member that holds the cutter 9 (processing means) so that the direction of the cutting edge of the cutter 9 can be changed, and is detachably attached to the carriage 4. The carriage 4 is supported by a carriage support member 5 so as to be movable in the X direction at a position that does not contact the workpiece medium 11 above the workpiece medium 11. The carriage support member 5 is a round bar and is arranged at a position that does not contact the workpiece medium 11 above the workpiece medium 11 with the extending direction of the axis R1 in the X direction. The cutter holder 3 is attached to the carriage 4 in a direction in which the cutting edge of the cutter 9 extends downward from the lower surface. The carriage 4 is connected to an X-direction movement mechanism 121 not shown in FIG. 1 and moves in the X direction by the power of a second drive unit 7B (for example, a stepping motor). Further, the carriage support member 5 is included in a rotational movement mechanism 122 and can be rotated about the axis R1 as the rotation center by the power of a third drive unit 7C (for example, a stepping motor). In this example, the cutter holder 3 attached to the carriage 4 can be rotated about the axis R1 of the carriage support member 5 together with the carriage 4 as shown in FIG. 3A. In other words, the cutter holder 3 in the processing apparatus 1 can be moved between a contact position where the cutting edge 910 of the cutter 9 contacts the workpiece medium 11 and a separation position where the cutting edge 910 is separated from the workpiece medium 11 as shown in FIG. 3B.
[0015] In one embodiment, the cutter holder 3 holds the cutter 9 such that the orientation of the cutting blade is automatically adjusted when the relative position between the cutting blade 910 and the workpiece 11 is changed while the cutting blade 910 of the cutter 9 is moved to a contact position and pressed against the upper surface of the workpiece 11. In this specification, "orientation of the cutting blade" refers to the direction V from the tip 911 of the cutting blade 910 toward the other end on the XY plane when the cutting blade 910 in contact with the workpiece 11 is projected onto the upper surface of the workpiece 11 (see Figures 3A and 4B). For example, the orientation of the cutting blade of the cutter 9 illustrated in Figure 3A is in the +X direction. In addition, in one embodiment, the cutter holder 3 has an operating part 350 (cutting blade rotating means) provided on the upper end side of the first cylindrical part 300 that is rotatable relative to the first cylindrical part 300, and the orientation of the cutting blade of the cutter 9 is changed by rotating the operating part 350. The orientation of the cutting blade of the cutter 9 is visually indicated to the user of the processing device 1 by a marker 361 provided on the upper surface of the operating unit 350.
[0016] A cutter holder 3 according to one embodiment includes, for example, a first cylindrical portion 300, a second cylindrical portion 320, a magnet 340, a magnetic plug 345, an operating portion 350, and a panel portion 360, as shown in Figures 4A and 5. The cutter 9 may be, for example, a round bar 900 with a cutting blade 910 formed by two planar ridge edges at one end 901 in the axial direction, and is held by the cutter holder 3 so as to be rotatable around the axis R2 of the round bar. The cutting blade 910 has its tip 911 offset by a predetermined distance (offset amount) D from the axis R2, as shown in Figure 4B. The material of the cutter 9 (round bar) may be, for example, a magnetic material such as steel or iron.
[0017] The first cylindrical portion 300 is a substantially cylindrical member in which a small-diameter hole portion 301 through which one end 901 side of the round bar 900 of the cutter 9 where the cutting blade 910 is formed is inserted and a housing portion 302 for housing the second cylindrical portion 320 communicate with each other. A bearing 310 for rotatably supporting the cutter 9 is provided on the inner peripheral wall surface of the small-diameter hole portion 301. A bearing 311 for rotatably supporting the second cylindrical portion 320 is provided on the inner peripheral wall surface of the housing portion 302.
[0018] The second cylindrical portion 320 has an upper housing portion 321 for housing the magnet 340 and a lower housing portion 322 for supporting the cutter 9, and is a substantially cylindrical member in which the upper housing portion 321 and the lower housing portion 322 communicate with each other through a small-diameter hole portion 323. The magnet 340 housed in the upper housing portion 321 is fixed in position within the upper housing portion 321 by fitting a magnet plug 345 into the upper housing portion 321. The lower housing portion 322 and the small-diameter hole portion 323 are formed such that the end portion (upper end portion) of the cutter 9 is inserted into the small-diameter hole portion 323. Further, a concave portion 324 that engages with a protrusion portion 920 formed on the side surface of the round bar 900 of the cutter 9 is formed in the lower housing portion 322 so that the cutter 9 and the second cylindrical portion 320 rotate integrally.
[0019] The operating section 350 and the panel section 360 cover the upper end openings of the first cylindrical section 300 and the second cylindrical section 320, and may also be members that prevent the second cylindrical section 320 from coming out of the first cylindrical section 300. The operating section 350 is attached to the upper end of the second cylindrical section 320 so as to rotate together with the second cylindrical section 320. Furthermore, the outer circumference of the lower side of the operating section 350 is provided with a claw portion 351 that engages with a flange 303 provided at the upper end of the first cylindrical section 300 to prevent the second cylindrical section 320 from coming out of the first cylindrical section 300. The panel section 360 is attached to the upper surface of the operating section 350 so as to rotate together with the operating section 350 and the second cylindrical section 320. The upper surface of the panel section 360 is provided with a marker 361 that indicates the direction of the cutting blade 910. The marker 361 is positioned near the outer circumference of the upper surface of the panel section 360, and as the panel section 360 rotates around the axis R2 as the center of rotation, the direction from the axis R2 toward the marker 361 changes. As described above, when the cutter 9 and the second cylindrical section 320 rotate together, the relationship between the recess 324 of the second cylindrical section 320 and the direction V of the cutting blade 910 can be uniquely derived based on the relationship between the direction of protrusion from the side of the round bar 900 of the projection 920 and the direction V of the cutting blade 910. Therefore, by making the mounting structure of the panel section 360 and the operating section 350 such that the positional relationship with the second cylindrical section 320 with respect to the direction of rotation is specific, the direction of the marker 361 on the panel section 360 can be easily aligned with the direction V of the cutting blade 910 of the cutter 9.
[0020] As described above, the cutter holder 3 allows the cutter 9 and the panel section 360 to rotate together, so the user of the processing device 1 (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as the user) can easily determine the orientation of the cutting blade 910 by the orientation of the marker 361. Furthermore, the user can rotate the operating section 350 using the orientation of the marker 361 as a guide to change the orientation of the cutting blade 910 of the cutter 9 to a desired orientation. For this reason, the processing device 1 according to one embodiment can perform the processing illustrated in Figure 6. The processing illustrated in Figure 6 is mainly performed by the control unit 8 (more specifically, the control unit 801) in the processing device 1. Before explaining the processing illustrated in Figure 6, the configuration of the control unit 8 illustrated in Figure 2 will be briefly explained.
[0021] The control unit 801 controls the operation of the machining unit 100 by executing a control program for controlling the operation of the machining unit 100. The functions of the control unit 801 are provided by a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that executes the control program stored in the storage unit 802. The storage unit 802 stores the control program for controlling the operation of the machining unit 100, cutting data including information on the cutting line (cutting path) set on the workpiece medium 11, etc. The functions of the storage unit 802 can be provided by ROM (Read Only Memory) and RAM (Random Access Memory) as main memory. The storage device that provides the functions of the storage unit 802 may also include auxiliary storage devices such as HDD (Hard Disk Drive) and SSD (Solid State Drive). The input unit 803 accepts operations for inputting and selecting control parameters related to the operation of the machining unit 100. The display unit 804 visualizes and displays information indicating the control parameters and operating status related to the operation of the machining unit 100. The functions of the input unit 803 and the display unit 804 are provided by an operation panel that integrates an input device such as a switch or keyboard with a display device such as a liquid crystal display. The operation panel may have a touch panel display that has the functions of both the input unit 803 and the display unit 804. The communication unit 805 communicates with the processing unit 100 by wire or wireless connection, acquires the operating status of the processing unit 100, and transmits control signals to the processing unit 100. The communication unit 805 may be able to communicate with an external device such as an information processing device 10. The information processing device 10 may be a smartphone or personal computer capable of creating cutting data, for example.
[0022] As described above, the processing apparatus 1 according to one embodiment can perform the processing illustrated in Figure 6 as the process of cutting the workpiece medium 11. First, the processing apparatus 1 performs initial processing to confirm and adjust the initial position of the cutting blade 910 (tip 911) of the cutter 9, the initial position of the workpiece medium 11, etc. (step S1). In step S1, the control unit 801 controls the position of the carriage 4 in the X direction so that the position of the cutting blade 910 (tip 911) of the cutter 9 in the X direction becomes a predetermined initial position. The control unit 801 also controls the position of the medium holding member 2 in the Y direction so that the position of one end of the workpiece medium 11 placed on the medium holding member 2 in the transport direction becomes a predetermined initial position. In step S1, the user of the processing apparatus 1 can operate the operating unit 350 of the cutter holder 3 to set the direction V of the cutting blade 910 to a predetermined direction. The predetermined orientation may be, for example, a specific orientation determined in advance (e.g., the +X direction), or it may be the direction of change in the relative position of the cutting blade 910 with respect to the workpiece 11 at the start of cutting.
[0023] After initial processing, the control unit 801 moves the cutting blade 910 to the cut start position (step S2), and changes the relative position of the cutting blade 910 with respect to the workpiece 11 to cut the workpiece 11 (step S3). In step S2, the control unit 801 aligns the cut start position set on the workpiece 11 based on the cutting data with the position of the tip 911 of the cutting blade 910 which is at a distance from the cutting data, and moves the cutting blade 910 from the distanced position to the contact position. In step S3, the control unit 801 controls the change in the relative position of the cutting blade 910 with respect to the workpiece 11 based on the cutting data (i.e., cuts the workpiece 11). The specific processing content of steps S2 and S3 may be any of the processing content of a well-known processing apparatus 1. When the relative position of the cutting blade 910 with respect to the workpiece 11 reaches the stop position in the cutting data, the control unit 801 terminates the processing of step S3 and determines whether or not to terminate the cutting of the workpiece 11 (step S4). If it is determined that the cutting process is complete (step S4; YES), the control unit 801 terminates the process illustrated in Figure 6.
[0024] If it is determined that the cut should not be completed (Step S4; NO), the control unit 801 moves the cutting blade 910 to a separated position (Step S5) and waits until it receives a cut restart operation (Step S6; NO). After the cutting blade 910 has moved to the separated position, the user can change the orientation V of the cutting blade 910 of the cutter 9 by operating the operating section 350 of the cutter holder 3. After changing the orientation V of the cutting blade 910, the user can, for example, perform a predetermined operation on the input section 803 to restart the cut. When the control unit 801 receives an operation from the user to restart the cut (Step S6; YES), it repeats the processing from Step S2 onwards. The starting position for restarting the cut of the workpiece 11 may be the position of the cutting blade 910 (more specifically, the tip 911) at the time the processing in Step S3 is completed, or it may be a different position.
[0025] The processing device 1 can cut the workpiece 11 along the star-shaped cutting path C shown in Figure 7. For example, the processing device 1 can start cutting the workpiece 11 from point P0, which is one end of side L0 in the cutting path C, and cut up to point P1, which is the other end of side L0. After cutting up to point P1, the processing device 1 can cut the workpiece 11 up to point P2 along side L1, which is connected to side L0 at point P1. The process of this series of cutting of the workpiece 11 as illustrated in Figure 6 will be explained with reference to Figures 8A to 8C. Note that Figures 8A to 8C only show the area 1101 of the workpiece 11 in Figure 7. Also, for the sake of simplicity, Figures 8A to 8C show an example where the workpiece 11 is cut along side L0 up to point P1, and then cut along side L1 up to point P2. When cutting the workpiece 11 from point P0 along side L0 to point P1, the cutting blade 910 moves relative to the workpiece 11 in the +X direction. Therefore, when the cutting of side L0 is completed (when step S3 in Figure 6 is completed), the orientation of the cutting blade 910 is in the +X direction, as shown in Figure 8A.
[0026] After the cutting of the side L0 set on the workpiece 11 is completed, the control unit 801 of the processing device 1 moves the cutting blade 910 to a separated position to cut side L1 (step S5 in Figure 6) and waits until it receives a cut restart operation (step S6 in Figure 6; NO). The user can know the orientation of the cutting blade 910 when the cutting of side L0 is completed by the orientation of the marker 361 provided on the upper surface of the cutter holder 3. The user can also know the orientation of the cutting blade 910 when cutting the workpiece 11 along side L1 from point P1 based on cutting data displayed on, for example, the display unit 804 of the control unit 8 or the information processing device 10. For this reason, as shown in Figure 8B, the user can rotate the operating unit 350 of the cutter holder 3 to change (adjust) the orientation of the cutting blade 910 in the direction from point P1 to point P2 along side L1. After changing the orientation of the cutting blade 910, when the user performs a predetermined operation to resume cutting, the control unit 801 controls the cutting of the workpiece 11 from point P1 along side L1 to point P2. When the cutting of side L0 is completed, the tip 911 of the cutting blade 910 is at point P1, and the orientation of the cutting blade 910 rotates around the axis R2, which is located on the positive X side of point P1, as shown in Figure 8B. Therefore, when cutting the workpiece 11 from point P1 along side L1, the control unit 801 estimates the position of the tip 911 after rotating the cutting blade 910, moves the cutting blade 910 so that the tip 911 is pressed against point P1, and then resumes cutting. Specifically, the control unit 801 estimates the position of the tip 911 based on the angle between side L0 and side L1 at point P1. Such position control by the control unit 801 can be performed by well-known methods, so a detailed explanation is omitted in this specification.
[0027] When a user of the processing device 1 operates the control unit 350 to change the orientation of the cutting blade 910, it is difficult to make the orientation of the cutting blade 910 parallel to the side L1 after the change, and in reality it will be close to parallel. However, if the angle between the orientation of the cutting blade 910 after the change and the extension direction of the side L1 is small, the tip 911 of the cutting blade 910 will be pressed against point P1. Also, since the tip 911 of the cutting blade 910 is offset from the rotation center (axis R2), the orientation of the cutting blade 910 is automatically adjusted by moving the cutter holder 3 relative to the side L1, and the workpiece 11 can be cut along the side L1. When the cutter holder 3 is moved relative to the side L1, the cutting blade 910 moves along the side L1 with its rotation center (axis R2) slightly offset from point P1, while the tip 911 is pressed against point P1 on the workpiece 11. Therefore, the cutting blade 910 rotates with its tip 911 (point P1) as the pivot point, so that the direction from the tip 911 toward the axis R2 (i.e., the direction V of the cutting blade 910) is parallel to the side L1. This rotation of the cutting blade 910 with its tip 911 offset is a well-known phenomenon and is sometimes called the caster effect.
[0028] Furthermore, when the processing device 1 performs the above-described process with reference to Figure 6, the point (position) at which the orientation of the cutting blade 910 is discontinuously changed when cutting along the cutting path C can be specified as the position at which step S3 ends. In this way, the orientation of the cutting blade 910 can be changed while the cutting blade 910 is moved to a separated position, thereby preventing deterioration of the appearance of the workpiece 11 (for example, around point P1 in Figure 8A) due to the rotation of the cutting blade 910.
[0029] Furthermore, when the orientation of the cutting blade 910 is changed (adjusted) using the caster effect described above, if the angle of change of the orientation of the cutting blade 910 is small, the deterioration of the appearance of the workpiece 11, such as curling, is small, and as the angle of change of the orientation of the cutting blade 910 increases, the deterioration of the appearance of the workpiece 11, such as curling, increases. For this reason, the processing performed by the processing apparatus 1 according to the embodiment is not limited to the processing illustrated in Figure 6, but may be, for example, the processing shown in Figure 9. Steps S1 to S6 in the processing in Figure 9 may be the steps S1 to S6 described above with reference to Figure 6, respectively, so the explanation of these processes is omitted in this specification.
[0030] In the process illustrated in Figure 9, if it is determined in step S4 that the cutting of the workpiece 11 is not complete (step S4; NO), the control unit 801 obtains the angle of change of the cutting blade 910 (step S11). In step S11, the control unit 801 obtains the change angle based on the orientation of the cutting blade 910 before the change and the orientation of the cutting blade 910 after the change in the cutting data. Subsequently, the control unit 801 determines whether the absolute value of the change angle obtained in step S11 is greater than or equal to a threshold (step S12). The angle threshold used in the determination in step S12 is set within a range that allows for deterioration of appearance such as curling that may occur when the cutting blade 910 is rotated while pressed against the workpiece 11. For example, the angle threshold may be set to an angle of 90 degrees or less. If the absolute value of the change angle is determined to be less than a threshold (step S12; NO), the control unit 801 determines whether the position of the cutting blade 910 at the time of cutting stop (cut stop position) and the position of the cutting blade 910 at the time of cutting restart (cut restart position) on the workpiece 11 are the same (step S13). In step S13, the control unit 801 determines whether the cut stop position and the cut restart position are the same based on the cutting order of the cutting lines in the cutting data. If it is determined that the two positions are the same (step S13; YES), the control unit 801 restarts the process of cutting the workpiece 11 without moving the cutting blade 910 to the separated position (step S3).
[0031] If the absolute value of the change angle is determined to be greater than or equal to a threshold (step S12; YES), and if the cut stop position and the cut restart position are not the same (step S13; NO), the control unit 801 moves the cutting blade 910 away from the workpiece 11 (step S5) and waits until it receives a cut restart operation (step S6; NO). When it receives an operation from the user to restart cutting (step S6; YES), the control unit 801 repeats the process from step S2 onwards.
[0032] Referring to Figure 9, in the process described above, if the absolute value of the angle change of the cutting blade 910 is less than the threshold, and the cutting stop position and the cutting restart position are the same, cutting of the workpiece 11 is restarted while the cutting blade 910 is still pressed against the workpiece 11 (i.e., the orientation of the cutting blade 910 is changed using the caster effect). Therefore, by setting the angle threshold to a range in which deterioration of appearance such as curling that may occur on the workpiece 11 due to the rotation of the cutting blade 910 is acceptable, it is possible to cut more efficiently while suppressing deterioration of the appearance of the finished product obtained by cutting the workpiece 11. Note that steps S11 and S12 described above are merely examples of processes performed by the control unit 801 to determine whether or not to execute the process of rotating the cutting blade 910 by the operation unit 350 (cutting blade rotating means) (steps S5 to S6). For example, the control unit 801 may acquire or derive other information corresponding to the angle of change of the orientation of the cutting blade 910, and based on the acquired or deriveted other information, determine whether or not to perform the process of rotating the cutting blade 910 by the operating unit 350 (cutting blade rotating means) (steps S5 to S6). Furthermore, the process of rotating the cutting blade 910 by the operating unit 350 (cutting blade rotating means) may include the process of moving the cutting blade 910 away from the workpiece (step S5), and may also include the process of rotating the operating unit 350 by the cutter drive unit 420, which will be described later.
[0033] Furthermore, the cutter holder 3 may be configured such that the orientation of the cutting blade 910 can be changed by operating an information processing device 10 that communicates with the processing device 1, as shown in Figure 10. The illustrated processing device 1 is provided with a cutter drive unit 420 on the carriage 4 that rotates the operating unit 350 of the cutter holder 3. The cutter drive unit 420 may be, for example, a stepping motor, and its output (rotation axis) is connected to the operating unit 350 of the cutter holder 3 directly or via gears. The information processing device 10 may be, for example, a smartphone or a tablet computer, and an application for controlling the processing device 1 is installed on it. The display unit 1001 of the information processing device 10 displays an operation dial 1010 that mimics the operating unit 350 (and panel unit 360) of the cutter holder 3, and when the user rotates the operation dial 1010, information indicating the direction and angle of rotation is transmitted from the information processing device 10 to the control unit 8 of the processing device 1. The control unit 8 drives the cutter drive unit 420 based on the received information indicating the direction and angle of rotation, and rotates the operating unit 350 of the cutter holder 3. At this time, as described above, the cutter 9 and the operating unit 350 rotate together, and the orientation of the cutting blade 910 is changed. In this example, for example, after changing (adjusting) the orientation of the cutting blade 910 by rotating the operating dial 1010, pressing the [OK] button 1020 displayed on the display unit 1001 confirms the orientation of the cutting blade 910 and resumes cutting the workpiece 11. In this way, when the orientation of the cutting blade 910 can be changed by an external device (information processing device 10) connected to the processing device 1, for example, the user does not need to touch parts such as the operating unit 350 of the cutter holder 3 located inside the processing device 1 from the start to the end of cutting the workpiece 11, and the user can change the orientation of the cutting blade 910 more efficiently. The operation dial 1010 and cutter drive unit 420 displayed on the display unit 1001 of the information processing device 10 are merely examples of user operation means that are connected to the operation unit 350 for rotating the cutting blade 910 and accept user operations to rotate the cutting blade 910. In the embodiment of the processing device 1, it may also be possible for the user to indirectly rotate the operation unit 350 using other user operation means.Indirect rotational operation is intended to rotate the operating section 350 of the cutter holder 3 without the user touching the operating section 350. The embodiment described with reference to Figure 9 can also be applied to the embodiment described with reference to Figure 10. In this example, the cutter drive unit 420 is configured not to interfere with the movement of the operating section 350 when changing the orientation of the cutting blade 910 using the caster effect. When the processing apparatus 1 illustrated in Figure 10 is made to perform processing according to the flow in Figure 9, a process in which the operating section 350 and the cutter 9 are rotated by the cutter drive unit 420 may be included between steps S5 and S6, which are processes for rotating the cutting blade 910.
[0034] Furthermore, if the orientation of the cutting blade 910 can be changed by an external device (information processing device 10) connected to the processing device 1, more information can be provided to the user, for example, by using the display unit 1001 of the information processing device 10. Figures 11A to 11C show an example in which information linked to the cutting progress of the workpiece 11 and the orientation of the cutting blade 910 is displayed on the display unit 1001 of the information processing device 10.
[0035] Figure 11A shows an example of the position of the cutter holder 3 (carriage 4) and the information displayed on the display unit 1001 of the information processing device 10 when the processing device 1 is cutting side L0 in a star-shaped cutting path C set on the workpiece 11. The cutter holder 3 cuts side L0 parallel to the X axis while moving in the +X direction. At this time, the display unit 1001 of the information processing device 10 displays information indicating the position PC of the cutting blade 910 relative to the workpiece 11 and the direction U of the relative movement of the cutting blade 910, which has been transmitted via the control unit 8 of the processing device 1. When the cutting blade 910 cutting side L0 reaches point P1, which is the positive X-direction end of side L0 in the workpiece 11, the display on the display unit 1001 of the information processing device 10 changes to show that the position PC of the cutting blade 910 has moved to point P1 in the cutting path C, as illustrated in Figure 11B. In this case, the direction U of relative movement of the cutting blade 910 displayed on the display unit 1001 may be the direction of relative movement just before the position PC of the cutting blade 910 reaches point P1.
[0036] When the position PC of the cutting blade 910 reaches point P1 on the cutting path C, the processing device 1 stops cutting the workpiece 11 and notifies the information processing device 10 that it has stopped. Upon receiving the notification, the information processing device 10 changes the orientation of the cutting blade 910 on the display unit 1001 to the orientation V of the cutting blade 910 when cutting resumes along side L1 from point P1, as illustrated in Figure 11C. The information processing device 10 derives the orientation V of the cutting blade 910 based on the extension direction of side L1 in the cutting data and displays it on the display unit 1001. Based on the orientation V of the cutting blade 910 displayed on the information processing device 10, the user can change (adjust) the orientation of the cutting blade 910 by operating the operation unit 350 of the cutter holder 3. The orientation of the cutting blade 910 may be changed by directly operating the operation unit 350, or by operating the operation dial 1010 displayed on the display unit 1001 of the information processing device 10 as described above. After changing the orientation of the cutting blade 910, when the user performs a predetermined operation on the information processing device 10 or the input unit (803) of the control unit 8 of the processing device 1, the processing device 1 cuts the workpiece 11 along side L1. Referring to Figure 10, if the cutter drive unit 420 described above allows operation of the operation unit 350 of the cutter holder 3, the orientation V of the cutting blade 910 displayed on the display unit 1001 may change according to the amount of operation (direction of rotation and angle of rotation) of the operation unit 350. In this way, by displaying the extension direction of the cutting line (sides L0, L1, etc.) and the orientation of the cutting blade 910 on the display unit 1001, the user can easily adjust the orientation of the cutting blade 910 to match the extension direction of the cutting line.
[0037] The method for presenting the changed orientation of the cutting blade 910 to the user of the processing device 1 is not limited to the method using the information processing device 10 described above. The changed orientation of the cutting blade 910 may be presented to the user by LED lamps 451-458 arranged on the upper surface of the carriage 4, for example, as shown in Figure 12. The LED lamps 451-458 are arranged along the contour of the cutter holder 3, outside the area that overlaps with the cutter holder 3 in a plan view of the upper surface of the carriage 4. The LED lamps 451-458 are switched on and off by an LED drive unit 450 built into the carriage 4, for example. The LED drive unit 450 switches the LED lamps 451-458 on and off according to a control signal from the control unit 8. The control unit 801 of the control unit 8, for example, when performing the processing of step S5 in the flow of Figure 6 or Figure 9, lights up the LED lamp corresponding to the changed orientation of the cutting blade 910 (i.e., when cutting the workpiece 11 along the next cutting line). By indicating the orientation of the cutting blade 910 using LED lamps 451-458 positioned near the cutter holder 3, the amount of eye movement required when comparing the current orientation of the cutting blade 910 with the orientation of the cutting blade 910 after the change is reduced, making it easier to change the orientation of the cutting blade 910.
[0038] If multiple LED lamps are discontinuously arranged at predetermined angles on the upper surface of the carriage 4, the control unit 801 of the processing device 1 illuminates the LED lamp positioned closest to the changed orientation of the cutting blade 910 when viewed from the axis R2 of the cutter holder 3, based on the angle of change of the cutting blade 910's orientation. In this example, there may be a discrepancy between the changed orientation of the cutting blade 910 identified based on the cutting data (cutting path C) and the orientation of the cutting blade 910 indicated by the LED lamps. However, if the LED lamps are arranged at 45-degree intervals as illustrated in Figure 12, the discrepancy in the orientation of the cutting blade 910 is at most 22.5 degrees. Therefore, the discrepancy between the orientation of the cutting blade 910 after the user operates the control unit of the cutter holder 3 and the changed orientation of the cutting blade 910 identified based on the cutting data (cutting path C) may be around 20 to 25 degrees. If the deviation in the orientation of the cutting blade 910 is within this range, the orientation of the cutting blade 910 will be automatically adjusted by the caster effect described above when the relative position of the cutter holder 3 with respect to the workpiece 11 is changed in accordance with the modified orientation of the cutting blade 910, which is determined based on the cutting data (cutting path C).
[0039] The embodiments described above are specific examples provided to facilitate understanding of the invention, and the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above. The processing apparatus, control method, and program can be modified in various ways without departing from the scope of the claims. For example, the processing performed by the processing apparatus 1 according to the embodiment is not limited to the processing described above with reference to Figure 6 and the processing described above with reference to Figure 9. As an example, if the processing apparatus 1 has a cutter drive unit 420 shown in Figure 10, the control unit 801 of the control unit 8 may perform a process to drive the cutter drive unit 420 to change the orientation of the cutting blade 910 instead of step S6 in the flow shown in Figures 6 and 9. In this example, the rotation angle of the operating unit 350 of the cutter holder 3, which rotates with the power of the cutter drive unit 420, is detected by a rotary encoder. The control unit 801 acquires the output of the rotary encoder electrically connected to the control unit 801 and monitors the rotation angle of the operating unit 350 of the cutter holder 3, and drives the cutter drive unit 420 until the orientation of the cutting blade 910 is the orientation for cutting the next cutting line in the cutting data. Once the orientation of the cutting blade 910 has been changed, the control unit 801 proceeds with the processing from step S2 onward without accepting any user input to resume cutting.
[0040] The processing unit 100 illustrated in Figure 2 is merely an example of a relative position changing means for changing the relative position of the cutter holder 3 with respect to the workpiece 11. The relative position changing means of the processing unit 100 may include a first mechanism for changing the relative position of the cutting blade 910 with respect to the workpiece 11 along a cutting line set on the workpiece 11 based on processing data, and a second mechanism for moving the cutting blade 910 between a contact position and a separated position. The first mechanism is a mechanism for changing the relative position of the cutting blade 910 with respect to the workpiece 11 in the XY plane in the processing apparatus 1 illustrated in Figure 1, and the second mechanism may be a mechanism for changing the relative position of the cutting blade 910 with respect to the workpiece 11 in the Z direction. The first and second mechanisms are not limited to any particular mechanism. The first mechanism is not limited to a combination of a mechanism for moving the cutter holder 3 in a first direction (X direction) and a mechanism for moving the media holding member 2 (workpiece 11) in a second direction (Y direction) perpendicular to the first direction. The first mechanism may be a mechanism that allows the cutter holder 3 to be moved in a first direction and a second direction while the position of the media holding member 2 within the processing apparatus 1 is fixed. For example, the first mechanism may be a combination of a mechanism that moves the carriage 4 to which the cutter holder 3 is attached in the direction of extension of the axis R1 of the carriage support member 5 (X direction) and a mechanism that moves the carriage support member 5 in the Y direction. The first mechanism may also include a mechanism that rotates the media holding member 2 around a rotation axis that extends in a third direction (Z direction) perpendicular to the first direction (X direction) and the second direction (Y direction). The second mechanism is not limited to a mechanism that rotates the carriage 4 (cutter holder 3) around the axis R1 of the carriage support member 5 as the rotation center, but may be, for example, a mechanism that translates the cutter holder 3 in the Z direction. The second mechanism may be a mechanism that translates the media holding member 2 in the Z direction.
[0041] The control unit 8 is not limited to being a device designed and manufactured specifically for controlling the processing unit 100; it may also be a general-purpose computer, such as a personal computer, that executes a computer-readable control program. The multiple functions shown in the control unit 8 in Figure 2, divided into multiple blocks, may be provided by a single piece of hardware. For example, the functions of the control unit 801 and the memory unit 802 may be provided by integrated circuit devices such as FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Arrays) and ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits). Furthermore, the functions shown in a single block in the control unit 8 in Figure 2 may be provided by multiple separate pieces of hardware. For example, the functions of the memory unit 802 may be provided by ROM and RAM, as well as auxiliary storage devices such as HDDs, as described above. In addition, there may be two or more processors providing the functions of the control unit 801. Moreover, the operation of the processing apparatus 1 according to this embodiment may be controlled by an external device, such as a smartphone or personal computer, that can communicate with the communication unit 805 of the control unit 8. [Explanation of symbols]
[0042] 1…Processing device, 3…Cutter holder, 350…Operating unit, 4…Carriage, 5…Carriage support member, 7A…First drive unit, 7B…Second drive unit, 7C…Third drive unit, 100…Processing unit, 110…Holding member moving mechanism, 121…X-direction moving mechanism, 122…Rotational moving mechanism, 801…Control unit, 9…Cutter, 910…Cutting blade, 11…Workpiece medium
Claims
1. A processing means having a cutting blade that is pressed against a sheet-like workpiece to process the workpiece, A relative position changing means for changing the relative position of the processing means with respect to the workpiece, A cutting blade rotating means for rotating the cutting blade of the processing means, A control means for determining whether or not to perform a process of rotating the cutting blade by the cutting blade rotation means while the cutting medium is being processed by the cutting blade based on predetermined conditions, A processing device equipped with the following features.
2. When the control means determines that it is time to perform the process of rotating the cutting blade, it controls the relative position changing means to move the cutting blade away from the workpiece. The processing apparatus according to claim 1.
3. The processing of the workpiece medium by the cutting blade is as follows: A first processing step involves processing the workpiece with the cutting blade along a first cutting line set on the workpiece based on processing data, The process includes, which is performed following the first processing process, a second processing process in which the workpiece is processed by the cutting blade along a second cutting line set on the workpiece based on the processing data, The predetermined condition is the angle between a first direction in the processing data that corresponds to the orientation of the cutting blade when the first processing is completed and a second direction that corresponds to the orientation of the cutting blade when the second processing is started. The control means determines that it will perform the process of rotating the cutting blade if the absolute value of the angle formed by the first direction and the second direction is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold angle. The processing apparatus according to claim 2.
4. The processing means is configured such that when the cutting blade is pressed against the workpiece and its relative position to the workpiece is changed, the orientation of the cutting blade is changed to an orientation corresponding to the direction of the change in the relative position. When the control means determines that it will not perform the process of rotating the cutting blade, it controls the relative position changing means to continue changing the relative position of the cutting blade with respect to the workpiece without moving the cutting blade away from the workpiece. The processing apparatus according to claim 1.
5. The processing means comprises a cutter on which the cutting blade is formed, and a cylindrical portion that rotatably supports the cutter. The cutting blade rotating means is positioned at the end of the cylindrical portion of the processing means opposite to the end from which the cutting blade protrudes, and is engaged with the cutter so as to rotate together with the cutter. The processing apparatus according to claim 1.
6. The cutting blade rotating means has a mark on the back surface of the surface facing the workpiece during processing that indicates the direction of the cutting blade. The processing apparatus according to claim 5.
7. The system further comprises a plurality of light sources arranged at predetermined intervals around the cutting blade rotating means and not following the rotation of the cutting blade rotating means, When the control means determines that it will perform the process of rotating the cutting blade, it lights up the light source among the plurality of light sources that corresponds to the angle of rotation in the process. The processing apparatus according to claim 6.
8. A user operating means connected to the cutting blade rotating means and which receives an operation by the user to rotate the cutting blade of the processing means, The processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:
9. A computer for a processing apparatus comprising: a processing means having a cutting blade that presses against a sheet-like workpiece to process the workpiece; a relative position changing means that changes the relative position of the processing means with respect to the workpiece; and a cutting blade rotating means that rotates the cutting blade of the processing means, Based on predetermined conditions, it is determined whether or not to perform a process of rotating the cutting blade by the cutting blade rotation means while the workpiece is being processed by the cutting blade. Control method.
10. A computer for a processing apparatus comprising: a processing means having a cutting blade that presses against a sheet-like workpiece to process the workpiece; a relative position changing means that changes the relative position of the processing means with respect to the workpiece; and a cutting blade rotating means that rotates the cutting blade of the processing means, Based on predetermined conditions, determine whether or not to perform a process of rotating the cutting blade by the cutting blade rotation means while the workpiece is being processed by the cutting blade. A program that executes the command.